He Will Save You (Jun 15)

Psalm 17

1 A Prayer of David. Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.

2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.

3 Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.

5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.

6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.

7 Shew thy marvelous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.

8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,

9 From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.

10 They are enclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.

11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;

12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.

13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

14 From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

David calls out to God in confidence for continued salvation. He knows that God is one that saves. "You save by your right hand those which put their trust in you from those that rise up against them. David goes on to describe those that oppress him: his enemies. He describes them as greedy lions looking on their prey. They are deadly; they are looking for a way to destroy David. You may have many enemies that surround you and look for your destruction. I think one of the biggest enemies is when we let our self (our selfish desires, our ideas instead of God's ideas, etc.) get in the way of what God has called us to in life. So often we want to blame our spiritual stumbles on other people and temptations, but in many of those times, we may just find that our own self-control has gotten in the way and tripped us up. But we do also have many temptations around us and, of course, the devil doesn't want us to come to know God closely, so he will send things into life that may be close to destroying us.

David was calling out to God with a pure heart and mouth. He wasn't coming to God half-heartedly or lying to God. He wasn't pretending to be a Christian or "going through the motions" at church. He wasn't just praying so that he could shed his enemies and then get on with his selfish plans. "You have proven my heart," he says. God saves those who trust in him. And he trusts in God: I shall be satisfied. I will behold your face in righteousness."